Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “REFUGEES”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Coeliac disease: a potentially treatable health problem of Saharawi refugee children.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the clinical and nutritional impact of coeliac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy) among Saharawi children living as refugees in Algeria. METHODS: A total of 65 Saharawi children with coeliac disease were compared with 71 age-matched non-coeliac controls. For each participant, the clinical history was taken and a clinical examination, non-quantitative 24-hour dietary recall, anthropometric and skinfold measurements, bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) of body composition, and venous blood sampling for haemoglobin determination were performed. RESULTS: Gluten-containing food, especially bread, was the staple diet of Saharawi children. Abdominal pain and distension were significantly commoner among children with coeliac disease than in controls (P < 0.05). The mean height-for-age was significantly lower in such children than in controls (-2.5 +/- 1.4 units vs -1.8 +/- 1.3 units, respectively, P < 0.01). No significant differences were found for either skinfold or BIA measurements. Haemoglobin values tended to be lower in children with coeliac disease than in controls. CONCLUSIONS: Coeliac disease has a negative effect on the health status of Saharawi refugee children. Because of the high prevalence of the condition in the Saharawi, a specific programme for treating all affected individuals should be established. Further studies are required to quantify the impact of coeliac disease in other areas of the developing world.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Refugee children in Canada: searching for identity.

Canada is providing a new home to refugees from around the globe, who have left their countries of origin because of persecution and are seeking safety elsewhere. These families bring with them myriad stresses arising from their migration. Child refugees, in particular, have special needs that must be considered--trauma from witnessing violent crimes, language difficulties, family disruption, and adjustment to a different culture--in addition to the challenges that accompany childhood and growing up.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

[Oral health and dental care in refugee children].

An epidemiological study was performed on caries, fluorosis and plaque in children of refugees 8, 9 and 10 years of age. Tooth brushing habits and dental attendance were evaluated with a questionnaire. Of the 87 children participating (response rate 89%), 85% showed caries experience, 17% fluorosis and 46% clearly visible plaque. Only 14% of the children had filled teeth. The number of children brushing their teeth two times a day was 42%; 58% ever visited a dentist, mostly because of toothache. Statistically significant differences exist between ethnic categories for caries prevalence, tooth brushing frequency and dental attendance. As oral health in refugee children turned out to be less favourable than in Dutch children, organised activities are recommended to fulfill the observed need of professional curative and preventive oral care.

Child↗
PubMed2001

Sertralilne, paroxetine and venlafaxine in refugee post traumatic stress disorder with depression symptoms.

The authors describe the use of three new antidepressants: Sertralilne, Paroxetine and Venlafaxine in treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and symptoms of Depression in adult Bosnian refugees victims of ethnic cleansing. 32 Bosnian refugees with PTSD and symptoms of Depression presenting for treatment of the mental health consequences of surviving ethnic cleansing, participated in a case series study. All subjects completed open trials of Sertraline (15), Paroxetine (12) or Venlafaxine (5), with standard clinical doses. Overall, Sertraline and Paroxetine yielded statistically significant improvement at 6 weeks in the total PTSD symptom severity, in each symptom cluster, in Beck Depression Inventory and in Global Assessment of Functioning. Venlafaxine produced statistically significant improvement at 6 weeks in the total PTSD symptom severity, in each symptom cluster and in Global Assessment of Functioning but did not yield significant improvement in symptoms of depression and had a high rate of side effects.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Psychotherapeutic testimony be refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina: a pilot study].

GOAL: The authors wished to describe the need of the psychotherapy by the witnessing in the group of the adult refugees who have survived the genocide in B&H. METHODOLOGY: The subjects of the study were 20 refugees from B&H with the residence in Chicago, which gave the written assent for participation in the study of the psychotherapy by witnessing. All the participants were this method, what in the average were 6 sessions, the approximative duration 90 minutes, once a week or once in two weeks. The participants were tested by the application of the standardized instruments for PTSP, depression, traumatic events, the global functioning and the previous therapy, after the last seance and after 2 and 6 months. RESULT: The estimations done after the therapy showed significantly the decrease in the percentage of the diagnoses of PTSP (repeated living, escaping, increase arousing attention). The symptom of the depression have also significantly lower, and the estimation of the global functioning was significantly higher. To the testing after 2 and 6 months showed that the further significant decreasing of the symptoms and the significant increase of the functioning. CONCLUSION: This pilot study offers the preliminary proves that psychotherapy by the witnessing of the symptoms of PTSP and also the depression as well as to the improvement of the functioning in the survived political and war violence.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A survey of vaccinations of immigrants and refugees in San Diego County, California.

PURPOSE: This report summarizes a vaccination coverage survey of 65 immigrant and refugee families in San Diego County. It included gathering information from 19 community and government organizations on the immunization system, and on families' barriers impeding immunization. METHODS: The "rapid appraisal" exploratory method flexibly used several research methods, such as informant interviews and door-to-door surveys, changing methods as new questions were uncovered. The researcher went alone, or with organizations' staffs, to interview families, record their vaccination records, and give them forms telling which vaccine doses they lacked. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The 4:3:1 (4 DTP, 3 polio, 1 MMR) vaccination series completion rate among children while they were aged 19-35 months old ranged from 33% in those born in 1984-1985, to 60% in those born in 1996-1997. The hepatitis B vaccine completion coverage rate among children in the 1984-1993 birth cohorts was 73%. The hepatitis B vaccine completion coverage rate among Hmong, Vietnamese, and Chinese adolescents ranged from 86%-100%, and among the Kurdish was 85%, Somali 73%, Lao 43% and Cambodian adolescents 35%. CONCLUSIONS: The hepatitis B vaccine completion coverage rate was higher among Hmong, Vietnamese, and Chinese adolescents probably because they lived near clinics and schools providing the vaccine to many, and among the Kurdish and Somali because they received many doses in refugee programs. The families experienced immunization barriers involving transportation, languages, little knowledge of immunizations, and missed opportunities. Two populations have cultural barriers: numerous European-Americans believe in anti-vaccine ideas; and many East Africans have little knowledge of the English language and the American system. RECOMMENDATIONS: Health personnel should continue using current methods to promote immunizations. Community organizations' staffs should consistently check vaccination records, and health officials should do more trainings for those staffs. The National Task Force on Hepatitis B Immunization, Focus on Asians and Pacific Islanders should broaden its work from Asians and Pacific Islanders, to other nationalities with intermediate or high hepatitis B endemicity.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The impact of policy changes on the health of recent immigrants and refugees in the inner city. A qualitative study of service providers' perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Dramatic changes to health and social policy have taken place in Ontario over the last five years with few attempts to measure their impact on health outcomes. This study explored service providers' opinions about the impact of four major policy changes on the health of recent immigrant and refugee communities in Toronto's inner city. METHODS: Semi-structured key informant interviews. RESULTS: Reductions in funding for welfare, hospitals and community agencies were seen to have had major effects on the health of newcomers. Emergent themes included erosion of the social determinants of health, reduced access to health care, increased need for advocacy, deterioration in mental health, and an increase in wife abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Several areas were identified where policy changes were perceived to have had a negative impact on the health of recent immigrants and refugees. This study provides insights for policy-makers, inner-city planners and researchers conducting population-based studies of immigrant health.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1996

Factors influencing the policy responses of host governments to mass refugee influxes.

"The policy responses of asylum governments to mass influxes of refugees have varied considerably. Focusing on less developed countries, this article explores why some host governments respond in relatively generous ways, while other governments act more restrictively. The policy alternatives available to receiving governments are classified, and a set of factors influencing refugee policy formation is explored. These factors include: the costs and benefits of accepting international assistance, relations with the sending country, political calculations about the local community's absorption capacity, and national security considerations."

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1987

Tuberculosis status and social adaptation of Indochinese refugees.

The relationship between tuberculosis and social adaptation of Indochinese refugees in Manitoba, Canada, is examined in 43 randomly selected refugees treated for active and inactive tuberculosis (cases) and their matched controls. Tuberculosis status did not significantly affect adaptation as measured by selected scales and indicators. Significant predictors of better personal well-being included a low number of family members outside the household in Manitoba, non-use of traditional medicine, female gender, and high individual income. Tuberculosis status was not a significant predictor.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1987

[Asylum in Switzerland. Some aspects of refugee migration].

"Switzerland is the European country which, after Sweden, has received the highest number of refugees (30,000) in proportion to its population. Asylum seekers have increased considerably since 1979. They are coming mostly from Third World, politically unsettled countries. The essay presents the results of a survey conducted in Geneva on a sample of 549 asylum seekers assisted by public welfare agencies from 1974 to 1983. These refugees belong to the younger age bracket of the active population. About half of them have completed their secondary or tertiary education. But their professional, social and cultural adjustment poses some problems. The vast majority of them, in fact, are employed in unqualified occupations in the tertiary sectors." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Acculturation↗
PubMed1996

How nation-states create and respond to refugee flows.

"The ideal type of political organization is the nation-state, which leads to a presumption of state legitimacy when the state represents a community, based on ethnic origin or shared political values, that claims a right to persist. A nation-state tends to produce forced migration for three reasons: it contains more than one nation; the populace disagrees about the structure of the state or economy; or the state implodes due to the lack of resources. This paper elaborates a theory of refugee production and policy formation based on the dynamics of the nation-state. It concludes by addressing international refugee policy and practice in light of this theory and political changes following the end of the cold war."

Demography↗
PubMed2002

Tuberculosis in east timorese refugees: implications for health care needs in East Timor.

SETTING: East Timorese refugees evacuated to Darwin, Australia, September 1999. OBJECTIVE: Presentation of the process and results of tuberculosis (TB) screening in a previously unscreened refugee population. DESIGN: Screening for TB by clinical examination (all persons) and chest X-ray (CXR) (persons over 12 years of age and those of any age with respiratory symptoms) and sputum microscopy and mycobacterial culture (abnormal CXR). RESULTS: Seventy-six patients were diagnosed with TB (38 culture-positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, including 11 sputum smear-positive). Of 89 positive mycobacterial cultures, 51 were non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Of the M. tuberculosis isolates, 82.2% were fully sensitive, 17.2% were resistant to isoniazid and 8.6% were resistant to isoniazid and streptomycin. Fifty-three consecutively diagnosed patients with TB were HIV-negative. The TB burden in this population was very high (point prevalence of 542/100,000 for smear-positive and 2,060/100,000 for culture-positive cases). Rates of culture for NTM were also high. Information from this study assisted the implementation of a National TB Control Programme for East Timor in February 2000. CONCLUSION: The challenges for public health authorities in East Timor to provide a successful TB control programme are enormous. The apparently low prevalence of drug resistance and HIV co-infection in the population is encouraging.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

[Aspects of depressive states in repatriated female refugees].

Nine hundred and eight repatriated women--refugees from Tadjikistan, who spent 1.5-5 years in the refugee's camps in the Islamic State of Afghanistan during the 1992 military conflict have been examined. A broad spectrum of depressive states was found: subdepressive psychogenic states (42.5% of the cases), lingering psychogenic depressions (28.8%), and endogenous depressions (28.6%). Among lingering psychogenic depressions, there were most frequently anxious-depressive, depressive-hypochondriac, and depressive-obsessive types. A 1.5-year follow-up revealed subdepressive states to have the most favourable outcome. Lingering depressive states, specifically when transformed to endogenous ones, their prognosis was less favourable. However, in some of these cases, a favourable outcome may be detected in the follow-up period when adequate complex medical and social rehabilitation care was used.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

[Management of cholera epidemics in a refugee camp].

Cholera epidemics in refugee camps represent a major public health emergency. In camps, precarious living conditions contribute to the transmission of the vibrio. Among the major epidemics reported in camps, we note as well those which have affected Africa in the last two decades. These epidemics are characterized by high attack rates and high case fatality ratios. Attack rates in refugee camps can exceed 5%. Appropriate control measures are adopted at international level. Actions carried out urgently must allow the proper supply of water, the control of excreta, and the improvement of general sanitary conditions and individual hygiene. Efficient management of cases in specialized cholera treatment centres (CTC) should decrease the case fatality ratio to less than 1%. Treatment is mainly based on the prompt rehydration of patients. For wide camps, rapid access to oral rehydration units is essential. Availability of all necessary equipment in kit form is required.

Cholera↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cultural barriers to health care for southeast Asian refugees.

Many Southeast Asians now living in the United States experience severe health problems, attributable to physical trauma and inadequate health care in Asia, and low socioeconomic status in this country. Evidence indicates that despite their health problems, Southeast Asian refugees underuse the American health care system. Cultural reasons for this underuse are examined. Southeast Asian cultural attitudes toward suffering, such as beliefs that suffering is inevitable or that one's life span is predetermined, can cause Southeast Asians not to seek health care. Cultural beliefs about the sources of illness and correspondingly appropriate forms of treatment can be a barrier to Western health care. Many lack familiarity with Western diagnostic techniques and treatments and thus are apprehensive. Health care providers' ignorance of Southeast Asian cultures can interfere with communication with patients, resulting in culturally irrelevant services or misinterpretation of side effects of Southeast Asian folk medicines. Southeast Asians' lack of familiarity with American culture can make health care services geographically and economically inaccessible and can cause Southeast Asians to be ignorant of available services or how to access them. An understanding of Southeast Asian cultures and additional outreach efforts by Western medical practitioners and health care providers are needed to improve the use of health care services by Southeast Asian refugees in this country.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Dental caries and stress among South African political refugees.

The aim of this study, which was conducted in a refugee camp of the African National Congress in Tanzania, was to analyze the caries experience in relation to perceived stress and sleeping problems and stressful experiences among South African political refugees. A sample of 194 persons, aged 11 to 39 years, was examined clinically and interviewed. There was a consistent association between caries experience and the different parameters for estimating perceived and experienced stress. In particular, the aggregation of different stress indicators seemed be strongly related to higher caries experience.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Mental health and illness in Vietnamese refugees.

Despite their impressive progress in adapting to American life, many Vietnamese still suffer from wartime experiences, culture shock, the loss of loved ones, and economic hardship. Although this trauma creates substantial mental health needs, culture, experience, and the complexity of the American resettlement system often block obtaining assistance. Vietnamese mental health needs are best understood in terms of the family unit, which is extended, collectivistic, and patriarchal. Many refugees suffer from broken family status. They also experience role reversals wherein the increased social and economic power of women and children (versus men and adults) disrupts the traditional family ethos. Finally, cultural conflicts often make communication between practitioners and clients difficult and obscure central issues in mental health treatment. Rather than treating symptoms alone, mental health workers should acknowledge the cultural, familial, and historical context of Vietnamese refugees.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1992

Medical disclosure and refugees. Telling bad news to Ethiopian patients.

The strong value in American medical practice placed on the disclosure of terminal illness conflicts with the cultural beliefs of many recent refugees and immigrants to the United States, who often consider frank disclosure inappropriate and insensitive. What a terminally ill person wants to hear and how it is told are embedded in culture. For Ethiopians, "bad news" should be told to a family member or close friend of the patient who will divulge information to the patient at appropriate times and places and in a culturally approved and recognized manner. Being sensitive to patients' worldviews may reduce the frustration and conflict experienced by both refugees and American physicians.

Adolescent↗